In the manufacture of large aircraft and parts thereof, such as aircraft fuselages, or other large assemblies, bolt-type fasteners are driven through drilled openings in the fuselage parts for aircraft, specifically into the interior of the fuselage. The threaded end of the bolt extends through the fuselage at selected points along the fuselage. Nuts are then manually positioned and tightened on the threaded portion using a conventional nut placement appliance known as a nut runner. Collars can also be used. This is a slow process and considerable time is consumed in this manual process, which impacts the desired speed of aircraft manufacture. The individual who uses the nut runner must wait for each hole to be successively drilled and each bolt to be then moved therethrough.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to accomplish the placement of a nut and tightening automatically, or placement and swaging of a collar or rivet, such as through robotic action.